[ TEACHER STRIKE ]
UHPA, state talks TALKS WITH A FEDERAL MEDIATOR resumed this morning to try to end the University of Hawaii faculty strike.
with mediator
resume
The chief negotiator for the
state says 'talks are
very serious'By Treena Shapiro
Star-BulletinState chief negotiator Davis Yogi and University of Hawaii Professional Assembly executive director J.N. Musto entered the federal building through an entrance away from most reporters. Other negotiators wouldn't comment about the status of the talks, which began at about 9:30 a.m.
Yogi left the negotiations after about an hour to attend another meeting at the state Legislature. But he left a UH administration subcommittee to continue the talks.
"Talks are on-going. Talks are very serious so it's very optimistic about trying to resolve it," he said. Asked about the specifics of the talks, Yogi said, "we're trying to keep negotiations out of the public eye."
Many faculty members take heart that both union and state negotiators have kept relatively mum about the status of negotiations since the last session ended at 2 a.m. Sunday.
"I take it as a good sign," said Bill Puette, director of the Center for Labor Education and Research at UH-West Oahu. "When things are that close, it's very dangerous to be throwing things out there."
Both Musto and Yogi reiterated yesterday that they made progress over the weekend, but while they are closer to a settlement, they have reached no agreements on lecturers, community college workload or pay.
Yogi said there will be a settlement today if the faculty agrees to the state's proposals, which are open to compromise. Likening the talks to a wedding, he said, "even when you get engaged, someone has to say, 'I do' ... and people in the audience have to refrain from saying, 'I make an objection.'"
But as close as the two sides are, UHPA negotiator Mary Tiles said the choice to settle lies with the governor. "We are really made to run at his pace and dance to his tune," she said.
Although 21 more faculty crossed the picket line at Manoa yesterday, bringing the total for that campus to 380 of 1,975 union members, Semelroth said there were also 10 percent more walking the picket lines during the 6 a.m. shift, compared with the end of last week.
The increased number of faculty returning to work does not concern him. Half of the faculty could cross the line, and the university would still be unable to carry out its mission, Semelroth said.
Drawing on experience working on other university strikes, Semelroth said students do not have to worry about losing their semester. "It's always worked out. The students never lose," he said.
UH President Kenneth Mortimer issued a statement yesterday that said that everyone at the university "will work together to assure that students can complete their courses once the strike has ended."
The administration has been working on contingency plans to save the semester but did not release any details.
One such scenario would be making up classes during the evening or weekend hours, a possibility that could lead to faculty making up pay for hours lost during the strike, according to Tiles. "We think it's fair. If you do the work, you get paid for it," she said. "If they don't want us to do the work, they don't get a semester."
Advance paychecks distributed yesterday by the university helped raise morale on the picket lines as well, even though they only covered work performed on April 2, 3 and 4.
This advance was all Hawaiian language instructor Kalani Makekau-Whittaker's family can expect to receive anytime soon, since his wife, a public school teacher, is also on strike.
Makekau-Whittaker said he and his wife will have to make do on their own until both strikes settle.
Debra Drexler, a UH-Manoa associate art professor, says as a single mother who already had a significant debt going into the strike, she has had to pay for groceries by credit card and has drained her bank accounts to their minimum balance, a total of $105. But with an interest-free loan from the union, she said she is in it for the long haul.
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